Window-catch.



H. HOLLAND.

' WINDOW GATCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1911.

1,097,228, Patented May 19, 1914.

| Jul I V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY HOLLAND, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

WINDOW-CATCH.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY HOLLAND, a citizenof the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahogaand State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inWindow-Catches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and durable windowcatch, especially suit-able for car windows, which 1s adapted for useinterchangeably at the right or left side of the window, and whichserves not only to hold the sash up, but also as a convenient means forlifting said sash; and, also, in the preferred construction, as a meansfor preventing the raised sash from rattling.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and hereinafterdescribed and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the invention asapplied to a window and its sash when the latter is raised. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional view in the plane indicated by line 22 on Fig. 1.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents a plate adapted to besecured to the sash and preferably to one of the side frame members nearthe bottom of the sash.

B represents the lifter-latch which is pivoted at its upper end to thefront side of the plate A. In the specific construction shownthe plate Ahas a forwardly extended cylindrical boss a, onwhich the lifter latch isfreely hung; and it is held on this boss by a washer a and a rivet M.

The lifter-latch B has at its lower end two similarly shaped divergingarms 6, b, which curve outward from the central line of saidlifter-latch and project beyond the two sides ofthe plate A. Thislifter-latch is symmetrical on both sides of a vertical plane, passingthrough its aXis when the latch hangs freely. The lower edge of each ofthese arms is beveled on both its upper and lower sides to a blunt edge,as at b, which edge is for engagement with the ribs 0 on the rack bar C.This rack bar C is to be secured to the inside stop D of the windowframe adjacent to the sash E. The plate A is to be secured to the sashadjacent to this bar 0, and in such position that the adjacent arm .7)will, as the latch hangs down under the influence of gravity only, dragagainst the face of said bar; whereby the lower. edge I) of said armwill,

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 13, 1911.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Serial E0. 660,110.

when it passes the ribs 0, swing outward over them so as to be in aposition to engage the of limiting the swinging movement of the ,latchon either side of the position in which it would normally hang under theinfluence of gravity.

When one wishes to raise a sash equipped with a pair of these catchmechanisms, he puts his fingers under the ends of the inner arms Z) ofthe lifter latches and pushes upward. The first eflect will be to swingthe latches inward until such movement is stopped by the engagement ofthe pin a with the end of the recess 6 When this engagement has takenplace further upward pressure upon these said latch arms will cause thesash to be raised. When the sash has been raised far enough it isallowed to settle back and the lifter-latches allowed to swing freely,whereupon the two outer arms 6 of the two lifter-latches B will engagethe top surface of ribs 0 on the two rack bars, and thereby the sashwill be held up.

In order to prevent the sash from rattling when up, the top surfaces ofthe ribs 0 are inclined downwardly and rearwardly, and the edges of thetwo arms 6 are similarly inclined as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the actionof these inclines upon each other will cause the sash to move rearwardinto engagement with the rear part of the window frame member, and thusprevent the sash from rattling. In order that the rack bar C may be usedinterchangeably on either side of the sash, and have in either positionthis capacity for contributing to the prevention of rattling, the ribs 0are wider in front than behind; that is to say, their upper surfacesincline downward from front to rear, while their lower surfaces inclineupward from front to rear. To transfer one of these bars from one sideto the other of the window the bar has to be turned up side down, sothat what were the lower surfaces of said ribs will become the uppersurfaces,

and will incline downward from front to rear.

In some cases it may be desirable to lock the sash down. In order toprovide means for doing this, a locking lever Gr may be pivoted to thefront side of the plate A. It may have two diverging arms 9, at itsupper end, which are adapted to engage a rack bar C at the right or leftside thereof, as the case may be. lVhen this locking lever is not in useit will hang, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, against the side ofthe lifter latch, and will, by its weight, cooperate in holding the armof the lifter latch in engagement with the rack bar. It may serve thispurpose whichever side of the sash the device may be secured to. lVhenthis lever G is to be used to prevent the sash from being raised, it isswung over past the cen ter above its pivot, so that it will fall bygravity, and its adjacent arm will come in contact with the rack bar. Ifone now attempts to raise the sash, this arm, by engaging with the ribnext above it, will prevent any considerable upward movement of thesash.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An interchangeable right and left window catch comprising incombination a plate adapted to be secured to the front of a window sash,and a lifter-latch pivoted thereto at a point about midway between theside edges of said plate, and hanging freely from its pivotal support,the lower end of said latch being formed with two similarly divergingcurved arms, which terminate in blunt edges,the plate being of suchwidth that when the latch is loosely hanging down, its two arms willproject substantially equal distances beyond the side edges of saidplate, and means for limiting the lateral swinging movement of saidlifterlatch.

2. An interchangeable right or left window catch comprising, incombination, a plate and a lifter-latch pivoted thereto and hangingfreely from its pivotal support,- the lower end of said latch beingformed with two similar diverging arms which terminate in blunt edgeswhich are inclined downward from front to rear, and a rack bar adaptedto be secured to the window casing and having ribs whose top surfacesincline downward toward the sash.

3. An interchangeable right or left window catch comprising, incombination, a plate having a forwardly projecting cylindrical boss, anda lifter-latch loosely hung on said boss and having at its lower end twosimilar diverging arms which terminate in blunt edges and having arecess in its rear side, a stud projecting forward from said plate intosaid recess, and means for holding the lifter latch on said cylindricalboss.

4. An interchangeable right or left window catch and lock, comprising,in combination, a plate, a lifter latch pivoted thereto and hangingfreely from its pivotal support, the lower end of said latch beingformed with two similar diverging arms which terminate in blunt edges, arack bar adapted to be secured to the window casing and having aplurality of projecting ribs, and a locking lever pivotally supported bysaid plate and adapted to swing freely on its pivotal support intoengagement with the adjacent rack bar or against the side of the lifterlatch as desired.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiiX my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

HENRY HOLLAND.

\Vitnesses H. R. SULLIVAN, E. L. Tnonsron.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

